Eastern Michigan University
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Become a Charter School

Opening a new public school academy (charter school) is a fairly involved process, which requires strong commitment from a dedicated group of individuals. While this task is enormous, it has been done a number of times in Michigan. There are six basic steps, outlined below, which would go a long way toward successfully opening one of these schools.

Step #1: Determine if there is a need for a public school academy.
  • Are there educational needs in your community that are not being met by the traditional public schools?
  • Are there enough families with school-aged students in your community who share this view?
Step #2: Familiarize yourself with the charter school movement.
Step #3: Decide if you want to open your charter school.
  • If the decision is "Yes," then go to Step #4.
  • If the decision is "No," then become involved in helping to improve your community's traditional public school(s).
Step #4: Organize a group of charter school supporters in your community.
  • Develop an educational vision (Mission Statement) for your group.
  • Decide upon a reasonable time frame for opening this public school academy.
  • Identify a targeted student population.
  • Consider if you want this public school academy to be self-managed or managed by an ESP (educational service provider).
Step #5: Contact organizations that can sponsor your public school academy.

These public school academy sponsors (authorizers) include:

  • Public universities
  • Community colleges
  • Intermediate school districts
  • Local school districts
Step #6: Review the charter application process.

NOTE: Eastern Michigan University is accepting applications on a rolling basis.